Larry Cook: On the Scene

Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts | Grand Rapids, Michigan

On the Scene is a solo exhibition that explores the cultural aesthetic of “club” photography and painted backdrops. The photographs featured were taken within the last two years in the Washington, DC area. During this time, Larry Cook set up makeshift photo booths featuring hand-painted backdrops, portraying either landscapes of leisure or high-end products. 

Within the exhibition, Cook examines the formal, social, and cultural aspects of this photographic practice, including photographs of subjects posing in front of backdrops that focus on elements of performance, expression, and spectacle. These works are featured with archival photographs dating back to 1980, highlighting the pose, gesture, and choreography in this visual form of representation.

To allow viewers to actively engage with the exhibition, an installation with a vintage backdrop is included, inviting viewers to participate in this tradition. On the Scene utilizes pictorial realism, fantasy, and photography to examine the larger questions of status, individualism, and materialism within black culture.